18 - [LATIN ANTHOLOGY] NISARD, Désiré (ed.). Collection of Latin Authors. Volumes 1–26.

[LATIN ANTHOLOGY] NISARD, Désiré (ed.). Collection of Latin Authors. Volumes 1–26. A monumental bilingual anthology of Latin authors published under the direction of Désiré Nisard, comprising an impressive set of 26 volumes, all identically and solidly bound. Paris, Firmin-Didot et Cie, 1877–1892. 26 in-4 volumes, olive-green half-shagreen, spine with cold-stamped raised bands, author’s name and volume number gilded, covers lined with marbled paper, original cover boards preserved (contemporary binding). Approximately 600 pages per volume, printed in two columns, with a repeated title vignette. Text in French and Latin. Spines faded, white marks on the leather, rare foxing. A comprehensive bilingual anthology of Latin authors, published under the direction of Désiré Nisard (1806–1888), a French writer, literary critic, and member of the Académie Française. An ardent defender of the Latin and Greek classics, he opposed Romanticism, which he considered too modern and decadent. He edited this prestigious collection of Latin authors for Firmin Didod in order to convey the foundational texts of Western culture in clear and faithful French. His editorial and translation work became a standard reference in secondary and university education during the 19th century. Comprising 26 volumes from various printings spanning the years 1877 to 1892, the collection brings together the great authors of classical Latin literature, organized as follows: Ovid (1 vol.), Livy (2 vols.), Cicero (6 vols.), Petronius, Apuleius & Aulus Gellius (1 vol.), Seneca the Philosopher (1 vol.), Latin Drama (1 vol.), Quintilian & Pliny the Younger (1 vol.), Tacitus (1 vol.), Statius, Martial, Manilius... (1 vol.), Ammianus Marcellinus, Jordanes, Frontinus... (1 vol.), Suetonius, Eutropius, Sextus Rufus (1 vol.), Horace, Juvenal, Persius... (1 vol.), Tertullian & Saint Augustine (1 vol.), Sallust, Julius Caesar, C. Velleius (1 vol.), Cornelius Nepos, Quintus Curtius, Justin (1 vol.), Lucretius, Virgil, Valerius Flaccus (1 vol.), Macrobius, Varro, Pomponius Mela (1 vol.), Pliny the Elder (Natural History) (2 vols.), Lucan, Silius Italicus, Claudian (1 vol.). Only the 27th and final volume is missing. A fine, solid, and cohesive set.